


Next Generation

by tatooedlaura



Series: Life, Part 3 [32]
Category: The X-Files
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-13
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-05-21 22:28:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14924063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tatooedlaura/pseuds/tatooedlaura
Summary: “We’re out there somewhere, eh Scully?”“Just waiting impatiently behind a desk somewhere, thinking too far ahead and believing far too much.”





	Next Generation

**Author's Note:**

> I think the Third series finishes here … it seems natural and I don’t fight storylines …
> 
> The Fourth will begin eventually but I haven’t written any of it yet :)
> 
> Thanks to all those totally awesome and fabulous people who like and comment and reblog and tag and send me all kinds of love … as long as one person reads my stuff and lets me know, I’ll keep on keepin’ on (or if no one lets me know, I’ll write it anyways ‘cause I enjoy it immensely)

A strange sound penetrated his hearing, his restless dreams, the minor whimpering ‘I have no idea how to function in this world and just want to cry’ squeak of three-day old baby. Blinking hard around the darkened room, he saw Scully leaning over Will, making cooing sounds and scooping him up as Mulder watched, mind caught between terrible memory and present beauty, “he okay?”

“Yeah, I think it’s just time to eat.” Sitting carefully back down on the mattress, she wiggled, pulled her shirt up and attempted, failed, attempted, succeeded in getting her son to latch on, find his 12:17am snack.

Mulder couldn’t help but stare, “I’m still amazed that works.”

“What? That I can be fancy doctor-type FBI agent by day and cow by night?”

“Your words.”

Smiling at him, Scully then turned her attention back to Will, already falling asleep, running her finger down his nose, under his bare toes to keep him awake long enough so he’d sleep better three minutes from now, “I’m good with them.”

Mulder began helping in the process, tickling chubby legs and dimpled elbows, finally giving up to the lost cause that was baby asleep, “I’ve been in that same position more than once, kid, enjoy it.”

“Oh, my God, Mulder, you have never once fallen asleep while doing anything to me naked.”

Eyebrow raised, “you seem to be forgetting one sultry night in August, place: Galveston, Texas, time: 4:25am … up for three days, randy from the heat, you wearing my ‘don’t worry, be happy’ t-shirt to bed, underwear, nothing else … I didn’t worry at all and was very happy … right until I fell asleep between your boobs and nearly suffocated, you also asleep from all my stimulating, righteous moves … lucky I didn’t die right there on the spot.”

Burping Will over her shoulder, she settled him back down before answering, “we are quite the,” insert yawn here, “pair, Mulder.”

Shifting his hand to her thigh, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Watching her move slowly, settle back down beside him, he scooted close enough to kiss her forehead, “so, we have to have a discussion.”

“About what the child should wear tomorrow for his first Sunday dinner? I was thinking pants, maybe … possibly one of those snarky onesies Joanna got him?”

Knowing diversionary Scully in any kind of dark, “snark is good but we also need to talk about what I’m going to do.”

“Do we have to do this now?”

“We’ve been avoiding it for three days, Scully. I’ve got to go back to work Monday and do I want to go back to work?”

“I know you want to go back to work.”

Frustration winning quickly, he flipped his legs off the bed, body following, swaying for a moment with equilibrium wavering, “but is it worth it? I’ve got this damn thing in my neck and feels like a fucking noose with every breath.” Demonstrating with an involuntary swallow and a hand over the chip, “you have no idea how much I wish I’d never found those damn files.”

“But then you wouldn’t have me or Will or Skinner or Mom or the kids.”

“But you wouldn’t have the chip either and you wouldn’t have been taken.”

Slowly going vertically, she motioned for him to lower his voice, “you don’t know that. I may have been on that list of abductees long before I ever even thought of joining the FBI. Without you, I’d be dead right now, of cancer, in the ground, long buried and long forgotten.”

That stupid matter of fact statement made everything spin. He’d always thought of it as his fault alone, not a matter of life or circumstance but him, his quest, his arrogance, their revenge, their only course of action against his relentless pursuit of now nearly irrelevant shit.

Scully didn’t know that look. She’d cataloged every freaking glance, glare, muscle twitch and eye dart in the past years but this was a new one, a unique one, “I can’t tell what you’re thinking.”

Somehow, he suddenly smiled, “it’s my arrogantly narcissistic look.”

“But I know that one very well.”

“This time it has an addendum.”

“Oh, God, you have addendums? Seriously? It’s going to be like a whole new you … the add-on Mulder … for those times when you think you know someone and that someone just wants to screw with you.”

The smile faded, replaced by sympathetic clarity, “what happened to you isn’t all my fault. It’s about 98% my fault but it’s not all my fault. Some things just happen. I can’t control them, I can’t fix them. They just are.”

By now, she was leaning on the wall beside the door, Mulder filling all available space in the frame, “I’ve been trying to tell you that for seven years.”

“You should have spoken a little louder.”

“If I said it any louder, crazy person, I’d have had to scream it at the top of my damn lungs.” Finally, a look she knew, the look that landed on his countenance in that millisecond, it was one of the first ones she ever saw, a mere 16 hours after she’d met him, “you’ve decided something, haven’t you?”

Reaching out, he stroked her chin, tweaking the corner of her mouth until it quirked up instead of down, “I’ve decided we should probably go back through those files Skinner gave us and maybe start doing some recruiting of my own.”

“Are we going legit?”

“I was leaning more towards expanding.”

&&&&&&&&

Sunday dinner began with Skinner’s induction into Sunday night dinner, a neglect pointed out by Jake, seconded immediately by Sam with a spoonful of mashed potatoes and thirded by Skinner and three green beans. Scully curled around her son lest he become covered in all manner of organic items up to and including corn, carrots, more potatoes, clear Jell-o, fruit salad, potato chips, Betsy’s ever present snacking Cheerios and two strawfuls of water, sucked up fast and launched simultaneously by Matt and Toby across the table at their Uncle Skimmer.

It was a glorious mess, one Maggie valiantly attempted to stop, then double crossed with her own green bean placed lovingly atop her husband’s bald head.

He sat and took it all, eyes shut tight, glad in the fact that he’d put on an old t-shirt at Maggie’s request.

Maggie’s request.

That little troublemaker.

Once the onslaught had finished and the giggles had settled, Skinner opened his eyes, brushing stuck corn from his cheeks then looking at his wife, “you had this all planned, didn’t you? I was wondering why the clear Jell-o.”

Maggie gave him a saucy look that flopped his stomach, forced him to shake his head, “I may have planted the idea in Jake’s head earlier today.”

“Planted?”

“Okay, pointed out the obvious and let his 9-year-old mind do the rest.” Moving behind him, she kissed him, then swiped a bit of potato from his neck, eating it before, “on the bright side, attackees do not have to help clean the kitchen. That falls to the attackers.” Looking at everyone over and under the age of ten, “except for Dana.”

Charlie groaned, “seriously? She’s the one who left that marshmallow hanging from Walter’s chin!”

“I did not!”

Dave adhered a single piece of corn to her forehead with a dab of potato, “don’t argue, D. Your name is written all over that marshmallow.”

She almost succeeded in not smiling, “it is hanging there pretty well, isn’t it?”

&&&&&&&&&

Dessert didn’t happen for another two hours, given cleanup efforts and need for baby holding by all grandmother, aunt and non-sticky cousin hands. “He’s so small. I mean, I know he was early but you were a nine-pound heifer, Dana, he should weigh more than this.”

Smacking her older brother on the arm, careful not to jostle sleeping son looking extra tiny in Bill’s arms, “Heifer? You, Mr. 10 ½ pound elephant, have nothing to talk about.” Looking over at Mulder, “how big of a baby were you?” Before he could answer, she held a finger up to Charlie, “do not say a word.”

Charlie closed his mouth.

Mulder shook his head, amazed as always that all these people were his, “six something but I was also a month early so Will’s still got a shot at being taller than you.”

Maggie swooped in, “all right, all right, that’s enough picking on each other for today. I’m taking the newest addition, who is thankfully happy and healthy,” retrieving Will from Bill’s hands, “for a clean diaper.”

The rest of them excused themselves in turn, reasons of homework, work work, housework, sending them home with hugs and declarations of talking to each other tomorrow. By sheer providence, Mulder, Scully and Skinner wound up alone in the kitchen, sitting at table and leaning on counter, “sorry for the marshmallow, Walter. I couldn’t apologize in front of them …”

“Lose street cred with the homies …”

“Zip it, Mulder …”

“I just wanted to make sure he understood …”

“For what it’s worth, Walter, that was possibly the best induction we’ve ever had.” Shooting him a grin, “you look good in potato.”

“I appreciate that.” Giving them the once over, “now, what do you really want to talk about?”

Beating around the bush really didn’t exist for the three of them, Mulder leaning forward, feet crossed, arms crossed, fingers crossed, “we’ve decided that Scully isn’t coming back on the X-Files, I would like to move to a supervisory role and I’d like to request two agents to work under me until I deem them fit to take over.”

Skinner had been expecting something more along the lines of longer maternity leave and possibly part-time at best when she came back to work and the shock read clearly on his face as he looked at Scully, “you’re quitting?”

“Shifting to normal hours teaching, lab work, autopsies when necessary.”

The set of her shoulders told him any argument would be met with, quite possibly and probably, more mashed potatoes in his ear, “I can do that.”

And the air around her settled, crackling heavy giving way to light, “thank you.”

Next, he turned to Mulder, “you didn’t find anyone in the files I gave you. Would you like to look at them again or have me pull new ones?”

“A few old because I know you had a few suggestions but mostly new, if you wouldn’t mind. Anyone who has ever shown any interest in us and our work, anyone who’s just a little out there, anyone who doesn’t quite fit in.”

“Agent Scully fit in just fine, Mulder.”

Landing a kiss to the top of her head, then the side of her neck, Mulder began massaging her shoulders, “no, she didn’t.”

Scully reached up, squeezing his hand, “we need to find another me and another him.”

“We’re out there somewhere, eh Scully?”

“Just waiting impatiently behind a desk somewhere, thinking too far ahead and believing far too much.”

Skinner couldn’t begin to imagine another set of them.


End file.
